A group of Wall Street-backed charity funds fueling the dark-money takeover of American politics is set to help collect half of all individual charitable donations within the next three years. These funds, the largest of which are managed by the country’s top financial firms, bestow the ultrawealthy with massive charitable tax breaks even if their donations never reach working charities.
So-called donor-advised funds not only operate under a cloak of donor anonymity and bankroll anti-government and hate groups at more than three times the rate of other charitable sources, but there is also no requirement that the money is ever distributed to charities. This means wealthy individuals can get a charity-based tax break without actually participating in charitable giving.
